The Break

Cheryl goes to Rita’s apartment and tells her that Stella has come to stay with Kookom. Cheryl thinks about how much Stella looks like Rain, and she misses her sister. She thinks about how Rain continued to get deeper into her drug addiction. Thinking about the past, Cheryl reminisces about the times that she had with her ex-husband, Joe, but how she did not want to live in the bush with him. She preferred to live in the city, and she used Lou’s hardships with Gabe as an excuse to leave Joe. She focuses on how she and Joe lived separate lives despite loving each other deeply. Cheryl, though, resents Joe for claiming that she needs someone to take care of her because he does not believe she can take care of herself. Rita and Cheryl discuss Ziggy’s recovery, and Cheryl worries that Rita is closing herself off from her emotions too much. Rita worries that Cheryl, who has called Joe to ask him to visit their daughters, has too much hope that he will actually show up.

Cheryl remembers a time when Rain took her to see a storyteller that told them a story about women turning into werewolves. She likened Rain to a wolf, and Cheryl remembers how free-spirited Rain was when she was alive.

Waking up in Kookom’s apartment, Stella listens to her grandmother in the kitchen as the smell of freshly brewed coffee reminds her of her childhood. She realizes that her children and herself both slept through the night, which is not something any of them have done in a long time. Stella offers to clean Kookom’s apartment, but she worries that she has offended her. This makes Stella question how much she can realistically feel guilty about. Stella also realizes how confused Kookom gets as the day goes on, and she worries that she has spent too much time away from her family.

Later, Cheryl comes over, and Stella tells her about witnessing the attack against Emily. She reveals how scared she was but also how much guilt she feels for not doing anything to stop the attack. Cheryl reassures her that she understands why Stella felt as though she could not intervene and consoles her. As the day goes on, Stella tells the story of how her mother died from being sexually assaulted by a man she met at a bar. When Rain went to the emergency room, they did not see her quickly enough, and she died due to freezing to death in her weakened state. Despite the man’s action, he received a suspended sentence because he did not have a record and convinced the police that they had consensual sex.

Lou cleans up Paulina’s kitchen, and she attempts to reassure her sister that everything will be okay for Emily because she has the family to help her. Back at the hospital, the police officers come back to tell Emily that Paulina let them know that Clayton did not attack her. They want to review the timeline of that night again, but Emily tells them no. Lou reacts in anger toward the officers when they tell them that, for safety, Emily and the family need to relocate since this is a gang-related crime. Lou tells them that they cannot protect Emily. Once the police officers leave, the family laughs at Lou’s outburst, and they regain a sense of relief.

Back at home, Lou’s son, Gabe Jr., asks when his father will be coming home, and she chooses to ignore his question. Jake worries for his family, and Lou tries to ignore the signs of him crying. He hurriedly runs around their house trying to find his black hoodie because he is going out with Sunny and their gang. After he leaves, Cheryl comes to Lou’s home to discuss Gabe’s absence. Lou admits to wanting to move on from their relationship. Cheryl then reveals to Lou that Stella witnessed the crime against Emily, and Lou reassures her that at least Stella called the police. She tries to defend Stella and claims that having witnessed such a violent crime made her freeze, which is why she did not do anything to stop it.

Officer Christie and Tommy discuss going back to see Ziggy to get her timeline of events from the night of the crime, but they decide to see Roberta, the girl whom Phoenix pretended to be when the officers went to Alex’s house. Once they arrive at Roberta’s house, her mother reveals that Phoenix lied to them, and she reprimands Roberta for spending time with her. She tells the officers that Phoenix consistently gets into trouble, and they discover that she went to the juvenile detention center for attacking a man with a baseball bat.

Tommy confronts Christie for calling him “May-tee” and tells him that the nickname is derogatory. Rather than accepting this, Christie just replies that Tommy is actually becoming a “decent cop” despite being Indigenous.

Later, arriving at his mother’s apartment, Tommy asks her why she put up with his father’s abuse. She claims that the love she had for him was strong and that they had good moments between them when he was sober, which made it easier for her to stay. They also discuss the possibility of the perpetrators of Emily’s assault being girls.

Emily begins to contemplate her life now that she has been sexually assaulted, and she feels as though nothing will ever be the same again. She wants to “become nothing” to not feel the pain of that trauma. The nurse attempts to help Emily get up and walk, but she gets nauseous and has to lie back down. She cries herself to sleep, and when she wakes up, Ziggy is in the hospital room. They comfort each other, and Ziggy apologizes for not being able to find her after they ran away from the party.

Emily, who remembers everything about the attack, thinks about how Phoenix and her friends held her down in the Break. She could not see because one of the girls sat on her head, and, as she continued to struggle to breathe, she felt so much pain she almost passed out. When they saw a light come on from a near-by house, Phoenix and her friends ran away, leaving Emily half naked in the snow. Despite the pain, Emily was scared that she would be found, and she forced herself up. She walked home and hoped that everything would go away.

In jail, Phoenix awaits her sentencing, and the guards take her to see her mom in the visitation room. She yells at her mom for having a drug addiction, and she tells her that Sparrow, her sister, would still be alive if their life had gone differently. Sparrow died in the hospital from being sick, and Phoenix was unable to see her due to being in the juvenile detention center. Elsie’s drug addiction continued to grow after this, and Cedar-Sage was placed in the foster care system.

Elsie, who wants to comfort Phoenix, gets upset with her daughter, and she recognizes that Phoenix is pregnant. Phoenix thinks back to getting arrested for sexually assaulting Emily. She did not think that they would find her because she was hiding in Alex’s basement. She then leaves her mom in the visitation room and pretends as though nothing is bothering her.

Kookom, who reveals her name to be Flora, thinks about how much she wanted to protect her family. She worries that monsters are always around them, but she also knows that she has raised strong women. Kookom thinks about how much she tried to keep the truth away from Stella about Rain’s death, but she realizes that this was not possible. She feels a lot of pain and anger for what her family has endured. Lou comes to visit Kookom, and Kookom tells Lou how her husband had an alcohol addiction. She likens his addiction to Gabe’s craving for being needed; Kookom admits to Lou that if she wants Gabe in her life, then she must act as though she needs him to be in it. However, Lou does not want to have a dependency on him.

Jake plays with Stella’s children, and Kookom is happy to have her great-grandchildren with her. They all eat breakfast together, and Kookom reassures Stella that she must not be hard on herself for staying away from them. She also reassures Stella that she will find her purpose in life, and, by doing so, it will be easier to get through each day.

Kookom dies in her sleep as she dreams of Rain.

Cheryl and Rita take their families to the bush to cleanse themselves through a sweating. Once they arrive, Cheryl sees an eagle fly overhead, and she believes that this is her mother, Kookom, watching over them. Cheryl relishes the fresh air now that they are out of the city, and they go into Rita’s old house. Being in the bush, she is reminded of Joe and wishes to be with him. As they all prepare for the sweating, Cheryl thinks about Rita’s reaction to Stella’s confession—Rita was angered by Stella not doing more than calling the cops. Cheryl defends Stella, but she also feels conflicted by it. Once the cleansing is over, Cheryl feels as though they can all begin to heal from the loss of Kookom and the assault of Emily and Ziggy. Rita allows Ziggy and Sunny to stay at the bush with their father, and they discuss embracing their age and becoming “real Kookoms.” Cheryl decides that she wants to stop drinking and smoking cigarettes; she also recognizes that the good memories she makes with her family will allow them all to heal from their traumas.